Myles counted about twenty mutated creatures clustered together in a tight group. That was strange. Usually, they roamed in scattered packs. But right now, they huddled around something near the gate. Whatever the reason, Myles didn't care. He only saw an opportunity.
He raised his hand, summoning a fireball. Without hesitation, he hurled it into the center of the mass.
BOOM!
The explosion erupted in a wave of heat and flame, sending burning creatures sprawling.
Their shrieks pierced the air, but Myles didn't stop. He conjured another fireball and threw it.
BOOM!
Then another.
BOOM!
The rapid succession of blasts engulfed the area in searing heat, reducing some of the monsters to smoldering corpses while others writhed in agony.
"Go!" Myles shouted, sprinting forward.
Nadine stayed close behind, gripping her metal pipe. The explosion had thinned the horde but not enough. Some creatures still stood and twitching as they turned toward the two humans charging at them.
One of them jumped at them. Myles swung his wrench, catching it midair with a terrifying impact. The creature crumpled because, its deformed limbs flailing as it hit the pavement. His Strength stats proving useful.
Another rushed in from the side. Nadine reacted, she stepping forward and slamming her pipe into its skull. The dull thunk of metal against bone echoed through the ruined street but the mutated human wasn't down.
More were coming.
Myles gritted his teeth and threw another fireball, forcing the nearest creatures to recoil. "We're almost there!" he yelled.
The gate loomed just ahead, but the last few mutants stood in their way, snarling and ready to attack.
No more time to hesitate. Myles tightened his grip on the wrench and charged.
"Move!" he barked, gripping his wrench tighter as he surged forward.
Nadine was right behind him and pushing a mutated human away with her metal pipe as she sprinted toward the gate.
The creatures that survived the fire turned their grotesque heads toward them. Some were still burning, but others were still untouched by the fire.
Myles clicked his tongue.
SWOOSH!
BOOM!
He shot another Fireball. Then another. His MP was draining fast, but he had no choice. Each blast erupted in a burst of fire, sending more creatures collapsing in scorched heaps.
Nadine let out a sharp cry as one of the remaining creatures lunged at Myles from behind him. She seized the moment to swing her pipe with all her strength at the creture's head. The impact sent the monster sprawling.
They were almost there. Only a few more meters to the gate.
But then, Myles felt it. A chill ran down his spine.
The ground trembled slightly beneath him from something bigger.
Then he heard it, the deep growl from behind.He didn't need to turn around to know what it was.
The mutated dog had arrived and join the party.
It was done with the high school boys. And now, it was coming for them.
"Faster!" Myles shouted.
He grabbed Nadine's arm and pulled her forward as they dashed for the gate.
The massive beast's heavy footfalls pounded against the pavement, closing the distance at an alarming speed.
However, this wasn't the worst thing that could happen.
Just as Myles get ready to obstruct the mutated dog's charge with his fireball, a sharp and eerie laughter echoed from the side of the street.
He turned his head just in time to see what the mutated creatures had been gathered around earlier.
It was a woman. Or at least, something that had once been a woman. She was still sitting on the ground.
She had grown to nearly three times the size of a normal human. Her legs and arms stretched far beyond their normal proportions. Tumors bulged across her grotesque body, pulsing like they were alive. Horns jutted from her skull at odd angles, some broken, others still sharp.
And then, there was her face.
Her lips were torn, stretched wide into a permanent bloody grin. She was eating those mutated humans.
Her jagged teeth gleamed with fresh gore and her hungry eyes locked onto Myles with predatory intent.
Then, she moved.
With an unnatural spring, she leaped upward, landing on a ruined car with enough force to crumple the metal beneath her weight. Her long legs carried her forward with horrifying speed as she walked toward Myles.
"Fuck! I thought this couldn't get any worse!" Myles cursed in his mind.
The mutated dog was still charging and now, this monstrous woman was approaching from the side.
Myles clenched his jaw. No time to panic. They had to move now.
"Nadine! Go!" he shouted, pushing her toward the gate.
"But—"
"No arguments! Run! And give me your pipe!"
Nadine hesitated for only a second before sprinting toward the gate, and throw the metal pipe at Myles.
Myles catch the pipe and spun back to face the two nightmares converging on him.
The mutated dog was closing the distance fast. The monstrous woman, despite her unsettlingly slow steps, was just as dangerous.
Myles reached deep into his remaining MP reserves. He still have 175 MP. It should be enough.
With a sharp inhale, he raised his hand and hurled a fireball at the approaching woman.
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed her in flames, but instead of shrieking in pain like the other mutants, she laughed.
A distorted, sickening laughter that sent a jolt of fear through Myles' gut.
She stepped through the fire like it was nothing.
"Shit," Myles hissed.
The mutated dog lunged.
Myles barely dodged in time. He gritted his teeth, rolling to his feet. Then he saw the monstrous woman crouch, preparing to pounce.
Myles gritted his teeth. "Fortunately, I still have that skill."
As the monstrous woman and the mutated dog charged at him from opposite directions, he activated his Surge skill.
A rush of energy exploded through his body. His muscles tightened, his heartbeat pounded, and his reflexes sharpened in an instant. His Strength and Agility skyrocketed, surging by +50.
A crimson aura flared around him, pulsing like living blood.
The moment the mutated dog lunged, Myles also moved.
--